From fc8c3d5ad47821a6d4b1bae4ba520526faac4185 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: highperfocused <highperfocused@pm.me>
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2026 13:37:01 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] feat: local draft notes with a blank "new note" entry point

Writing was tied to publishing: the Feed composer either sits empty
or fires a note straight to relays, with nowhere to keep something
you're not ready to publish yet.

The Note app now supports a draft mode when opened without an id: a
blank note kept in localStorage until you publish it or discard it,
reachable via a new "New note" button in the Feed toolbar, the Go
menu, or the command palette (all already open the Note app with no
params).

Closes #19

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01BYiUtZMQeA5RHggQw73wto
---
 docs/apps.md             |   2 +-
 src/apps/feed/index.tsx  |  13 ++++-
 src/apps/notes/Draft.tsx | 104 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 src/apps/notes/index.tsx |   9 ++--
 4 files changed, 122 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 src/apps/notes/Draft.tsx

diff --git a/docs/apps.md b/docs/apps.md
index 6cc09bf..677cbd4 100644
--- a/docs/apps.md
+++ b/docs/apps.md
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ export default function ExampleApp({ setTitle }: AppProps) {
 |---|---|---|---|
 | Feed | `feed` | — | kind 1 timeline, Following/Global, composer (⌘↵ publishes) |
 | Profile | `profile` | `pubkey`, `relays?` | kind 0 metadata, the author's notes, follow/unfollow |
-| Note | `notes` | `id`, `relays?` | One note and its replies. **Not** a singleton |
+| Note | `notes` | `id`, `relays?` | One note and its replies, or a blank local draft when `id` is absent. **Not** a singleton |
 | Reader | `articles` | `pubkey?`, `identifier?`, `kind?`, `relays?` | NIP-23 long-form, `react-markdown` |
 | Relays | `relays` | — | Connection state, subscription count, measured latency |
 | Settings | `settings` | — | Theme, relay list, Blossom servers, account, session |
diff --git a/src/apps/feed/index.tsx b/src/apps/feed/index.tsx
index dc25322..d3d61a9 100644
--- a/src/apps/feed/index.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/feed/index.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react';
 import { useNostr } from '@nostrify/react';
 import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
-import { Globe, Loader2, Users } from 'lucide-react';
+import { FileText, Globe, Loader2, Users } from 'lucide-react';
 import type { NostrEvent } from '@nostrify/nostrify';
 import { AppBody, AppLayout, AppToolbar, EmptyState } from '@/components/os/AppChrome';
 import { NoteCard } from '@/components/nostr/NoteCard';
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { Skeleton } from '@/components/ui/skeleton';
 import { useCurrentUser } from '@/hooks/useCurrentUser';
 import { useMyFollows } from '@/hooks/useFollows';
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { useWindowManager } from '@/os/useWindowManager';
 import type { AppProps } from '@/os/types';
 
 type Scope = 'following' | 'global';
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@ function useFeed(scope: Scope, authors: string[] | undefined) {
 
 export default function FeedApp({ setTitle }: AppProps) {
   const { user } = useCurrentUser();
+  const { openApp } = useWindowManager();
   const { data: follows } = useMyFollows();
   const [requestedScope, setScope] = useState<Scope>('following');
 
@@ -85,6 +87,15 @@ export default function FeedApp({ setTitle }: AppProps) {
         />
         <div className="ml-auto flex items-center gap-2">
           {query.isFetching && <Loader2 className="size-3.5 animate-spin text-muted-foreground" aria-hidden />}
+          <Button
+            variant="ghost"
+            size="sm"
+            className="h-7 gap-1.5 px-2 text-xs"
+            onClick={() => openApp('notes', {})}
+          >
+            <FileText className="size-3.5" aria-hidden />
+            New note
+          </Button>
           <Button
             variant="ghost"
             size="sm"
diff --git a/src/apps/notes/Draft.tsx b/src/apps/notes/Draft.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4db0494
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/apps/notes/Draft.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+import { useState } from 'react';
+import { Loader2, Send, Trash2 } from 'lucide-react';
+import { AppBody, AppLayout, AppToolbar } from '@/components/os/AppChrome';
+import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';
+import { Textarea } from '@/components/ui/textarea';
+import { useCurrentUser } from '@/hooks/useCurrentUser';
+import { useLocalStorage } from '@/hooks/useLocalStorage';
+import { useNostrPublish } from '@/hooks/useNostrPublish';
+import { useToast } from '@/hooks/useToast';
+
+const DRAFT_KEY = 'layer-os:draft-note';
+
+/**
+ * A blank note kept as a local draft — not published until you say so, and
+ * not lost between sessions or windows in the meantime. This is the "open a
+ * new note" entry point (reachable from the Go menu, the command palette,
+ * and the Feed toolbar) for writing something before deciding it is worth
+ * publishing.
+ */
+export function DraftNote({ onPublished }: { onPublished: (id: string) => void }) {
+  const { user } = useCurrentUser();
+  const [draft, setDraft] = useLocalStorage(DRAFT_KEY, '');
+  const publish = useNostrPublish();
+  const { toast } = useToast();
+  const [confirmingDiscard, setConfirmingDiscard] = useState(false);
+
+  const trimmed = draft.trim();
+
+  const handlePublish = async () => {
+    if (!trimmed) return;
+    try {
+      const event = await publish.mutateAsync({ kind: 1, content: trimmed, tags: [] });
+      setDraft('');
+      toast({ title: 'Note published' });
+      onPublished(event.id);
+    } catch (error) {
+      toast({
+        title: 'Could not publish',
+        description: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'No relay accepted the note.',
+        variant: 'destructive',
+      });
+    }
+  };
+
+  const handleDiscard = () => {
+    if (!confirmingDiscard) {
+      setConfirmingDiscard(true);
+      return;
+    }
+    setDraft('');
+    setConfirmingDiscard(false);
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <AppLayout>
+      <AppToolbar>
+        <span className="text-[13px] font-medium">New Note</span>
+        <div className="ml-auto flex items-center gap-2">
+          {draft && (
+            <Button
+              variant="ghost"
+              size="sm"
+              className="h-7 gap-1.5 px-2 text-xs text-muted-foreground"
+              onClick={handleDiscard}
+              onBlur={() => setConfirmingDiscard(false)}
+            >
+              <Trash2 className="size-3.5" aria-hidden />
+              {confirmingDiscard ? 'Click again to discard' : 'Discard draft'}
+            </Button>
+          )}
+          {user && (
+            <Button
+              size="sm"
+              className="h-7 gap-1.5 px-2.5 text-xs"
+              onClick={handlePublish}
+              disabled={!trimmed || publish.isPending}
+            >
+              {publish.isPending ? (
+                <Loader2 className="size-3.5 animate-spin" aria-hidden />
+              ) : (
+                <Send className="size-3.5" aria-hidden />
+              )}
+              Publish
+            </Button>
+          )}
+        </div>
+      </AppToolbar>
+
+      <AppBody className="flex flex-col p-4">
+        <Textarea
+          value={draft}
+          onChange={(event) => setDraft(event.target.value)}
+          placeholder={
+            user
+              ? 'Write something… it’s kept as a local draft until you publish it.'
+              : 'Write something… it’s kept as a local draft on this device. Sign in to publish it.'
+          }
+          autoFocus
+          className="min-h-40 flex-1 resize-none border-0 bg-transparent p-0 text-[15px] leading-relaxed shadow-none focus-visible:ring-0"
+        />
+      </AppBody>
+    </AppLayout>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/apps/notes/index.tsx b/src/apps/notes/index.tsx
index 1e49919..50457e2 100644
--- a/src/apps/notes/index.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/notes/index.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { AuthorLine } from '@/components/nostr/AuthorLine';
 import { NoteContent } from '@/components/nostr/NoteContent';
 import { NoteCard } from '@/components/nostr/NoteCard';
 import { Composer } from '@/apps/feed/Composer';
+import { DraftNote } from './Draft';
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';
 import { Skeleton } from '@/components/ui/skeleton';
 import { useCurrentUser } from '@/hooks/useCurrentUser';
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ function useReplies(id: string | undefined, relays: string[] | undefined) {
   });
 }
 
-export default function NotesApp({ params, setTitle }: AppProps) {
+export default function NotesApp({ params, setTitle, setParams }: AppProps) {
   const { user } = useCurrentUser();
   const id = params.id;
   const relays = decodeRelayHints(params.relays);
@@ -62,11 +63,11 @@ export default function NotesApp({ params, setTitle }: AppProps) {
   const name = note.data ? displayName(note.data.pubkey, author.data?.metadata) : undefined;
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    setTitle(name ? `Note by ${name}` : 'Note');
-  }, [name, setTitle]);
+    setTitle(id ? (name ? `Note by ${name}` : 'Note') : 'New Note');
+  }, [id, name, setTitle]);
 
   if (!id) {
-    return <EmptyState title="No note selected" hint="Open a note from the feed to read its thread." />;
+    return <DraftNote onPublished={(publishedId) => setParams({ id: publishedId })} />;
   }
 
   if (note.isLoading) {